Posted on by Kurt Bodling

practical notes on silence

“Some spiritual leaders have the privilege of regularly incorporating silence into their spiritual routines. Most people would find it difficult, in the course of their work routines and family obligations, to carve out a day of silence every week or even once a month! Nonetheless, all followers of Christ would benefit from incorporating this practice into their schedules and rhythms of life. For some, it might mean setting aside a Saturday a month to spend time in the discipline of silence. For others, it may mean asking a friend to come and watch the kids for a few hours during the afternoon so that one can enter into silence without the responsibilities of parenting during that time.”

Cannon, Mae Elise. Just Spirituality: How Faith Practices Fuel Social Action. Downers Grove, IL : InterVarsity Press, 2013, p. 31.

Note: ALL followers of Christ would benefit

Posted on by Kurt Bodling

experience

"Now the great obstacle to mutual understanding between Christianity and Buddhism lies in the Western tendency to focus not on the Buddhist experience, which is essential, but on the explanation, which is accidental and which indeed Zen often regards as completely trivial and even misleading.

“Buddhist meditation, but above all that of Zen, seeks not to explain but to pay attention, to become aware, to be mindful, in other words to develop a certain kind of consciousness that is above and beyond deception by verbal formulas–or by emotional excitement.”

Merton, Thomas. “A Christian Looks at Zen.” (1967) in Selected Essays. Edited with an introduction by Patrick F. O’Connell. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2013, p. 346.

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secrets revealed

“While it is unclear just how the Greek concept of mystery influenced early Christianity, the concept of mystery as ‘hiddenness’ appears in the writings of the apostle Paul and other early Christian mystics–even as it has an entirely different flavor from the pagan contexts out of which the language of mystery emerged. The earliest Christian mystics don’t talk about ritual secrets that only initiates can access; rather they talk about secrets that are revealed–through Christ, through the Bible, through the Christian sacraments, and eventually, through personal experiences of the presence of God.”

McColman, Carl. The New Big Book of Christian Mysticism: an Essential Guide to Contemplative Spirituality. Minneapolis: Broadleaf Books, 2023, p. 59.

Posted on by Kurt Bodling

radical proposals to build silence

"…to resign oneself to a situation in which a community is constantly overwhelmed with activity, noise of machines, etc., is an abuse.

"What to do? Those who love God should attempt to preserve or create an atmosphere in which He can be found. Christians should have quiet homes. Throw out television, if necessary – not everybody, but those who take this sort of thing seriously. Radios useless. Stay away from the movies – I was going to say ‘as a penance’ but it would seem to me to be rather a pleasure than a penance, to stay away from the movies. Maybe even form small agrarian communities in the country where there would be no radios etc.

"Let those who can stand a little silence find other people who like silence, and create silence and peace for one another. Bring up their kids not to yell so much. Children are naturally quiet – if they are left alone and not given the needle from the cradle upward, in order that they may develop into citizens of a state in which everybody yells and is yelled at.

“Provide people with places where they can go to to be quiet – relax minds and hearts in the presence of God – chapels in the country, or in town also. Reading rooms, hermitages. Retreat houses without a constant ballyhoo of noisy ‘exercises’ – they even yell the stations of the Cross, and not too far from Gethsemani either.”

“For many it would mean great renunciation and discipline to give up these sources of noise: but they know it is what they need. Afraid to do it because their neighbors would think they were bats.” (9 November 1950)

Merton, Thomas. The Sign of Jonas. San Diego: Harcourt, Inc., 1981. (originally published 1953), p. 311-312.

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stillness empowers us

“At the Hermitage we use an axiom that remains true: if you really want to do ministry well, then be content with stillness. It is only in the power of finding the Spirit in stillness that our ministry can really have the power of the Spirit in it at all. Plus, we recognize that behind every successful active ministry, there is usually a group of contemplative people praying in stillness for its success.”

Talbot, John Michael. The Universal Monk: The Way of the New Monastics. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2011, pp. 67-68.

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knowing God

“We know God aright when we grasp him not in his might or wisdom (for then he proves terrifying), but in his kindness and love. Then faith and confidence are able to exist, and then man is truly born anew in God.”

Luther, Martin. “A Meditation on Christ’s Passion” (1519) Luther’s Works Vol. 42. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1969, page 13.

Comment: How do we really know God? Not through the Law (which holds us at arm’s length) but through the Gospel (which wraps us up in God’s loving arms).

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becoming a mystic

“We become mystics or contemplatives only through the grace of God as work in our lives. Any effort we make to do it strictly on our own is likely doomed to failure. Indeed, the author of The Cloud of Unknowing has stern words for those who, through pride and the folly of their own imagination, try to become mystics or contemplatives without humbly relying on the guidance of the Spirit. He calls these pseudo-mystics the ‘devil’s contemplatives’. Contemplation and mysticism are always gifts from God. But God will never force those gifts on anyone God is not in the business of spiritual coercion.”

McColman, Carl. The New Big Book of Christian Mysticism: an Essential Guide to Contemplative Spirituality. Minneapolis: Broadleaf Books, 2023, p. 176.

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why we pray

“Why should I pray? Basically it is for the sake of praying. There is much else we might claim about prayer–it is for the sake of the world, it is for those in need, for the Church, for individual souls–all of which is true. But unless it is rooted in the boundless freedom of love and confidence in God, it is void and crippled. It has some effect perhaps, but lacks the current of grace and graciousness that flows from God.”

Quenon, Paul. In Praise of the Useless Life: a Monk’s Memoir. Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press, 2018, p. 5.

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benefits of regular prayer

“The duration of prayer influences its quality, because a longer period of time helps the body assume a deeper prayer stance. In addition to this irreplaceable prolonged prayer, it is important during the day to consecrate the present moment by reciting a few invocations. One of them, the Angelus, has a long tradition in the Church. … Moreover, even in very different places, knowing that at that precise moment all are praying with the same formula strengthens our awareness of being interdependent in Christ.”

Okumura, Augustine Ichiro. Awakening to Prayer. Translated by Theresa Kazue Hiraki and Albert Masaru Yamato. Washington, DC: ICS Publications, Institute of Carmelite Studies, 1994, p. 64.

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sin cannot harm us

“Therefore, just as it is impossible for Christ with his righteousness not to please God, so it is impossible for us, with our faith clinging to his righteousness, not to please him. It is in this way that a Christian becomes almighty lord of all, having all things and doing all things, wholly without sin. Even if he is in sins, these cannot do him harm; they are forgiven for the sake of the inexhaustible righteousness of Christ that removes all sins. It is on this that our faith relies, firmly trusting that he is such a Christ as we have described.”

Luther, Martin. “Fourteen Consolations for Those Who Labor and Are Heavy Laden” (1520) Luther’s Works Vol. 42. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1969, p. 165.